Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Combined Effects Of Parent And Teacher Involvement On The Development Of Adolescents' Academic Engagement, Nicolette Paige Rickert

Dissertations and Theses

The current dissertation includes two related studies designed to examine the combined effects of parent and teacher involvement on the development of adolescents' academic engagement as they transition to middle school. Previous studies have demonstrated the positive, individual effects of parent and teacher warm involvement on adolescents' engagement in school. However, this research is limited in its focus on only one social partner. Adolescent development is embedded within multiple, dynamic systems, necessitating the examination of both parent and teacher influences. The few studies that have examined parents and teachers together suggest that their combined effects are both cumulative (additive) and …

The Role Of Teacher Autonomy Support Across The Transition To Middle School: Its Components, Reach, And Developmental Effects, Julia Sara Dancis

Dissertations and Theses

Building upon self-determination theory, this study sought to ascertain the reach of teacher autonomy support beyond its well-documented impact on student autonomy and engagement to include student competence and relatedness, as well as to parse apart specific teacher behaviors that comprise autonomy support (i.e., respect, choice, relevance, coercion) and their unique influences on the multiple motivational outcomes, surrounding the transition to middle school. These questions were examined using information from 224 fifth graders, 339 sixth graders, and 345 seventh graders attending elementary and middle schools in a predominantly Caucasian working and middle class school district.

Regression analyses, predicting change in …

"My Teacher Says I'M An Overachiever, But I Think He's An Overexpecter" : Teacher Expectations, Self-Concept, And Academic Success, Jennifer Lea Campbell

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores the relationship between student judgments of teacher expectations and academic success, student self-concept and academic success, and student judgments of discrimination experiences and academic success. In the winter of 2018, a sample of 176 communication students at a northwestern university completed revised versions of the Teacher Treatment Inventory (TTI) and the Self-Description Questionnaire III (SDQ III), as well as the original Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS). College-age students found the TTI confusing, and many participants said they did not have a relationship with their college professors. The hypothesis that suggested student judgments of teacher expectations would positively correlate …

Student Motivation Profiles As A Diagnostic Tool To Help Teachers Provide Targeted Support, Cailin Tricia Currie

Dissertations and Theses

Research has demonstrated that academic engagement is an important resource for students, promoting their learning and achievement. Less well documented is the possibility that students' classroom engagement may also be a valuable resource for their teachers, capable of influencing how teachers treat their students over time. The current study sought to examine the relationship between student motivation and teacher behavior to better understand how teachers perceive and respond to their students' classroom motivation and whether these motivational states contain diagnostic information about the types of supports students may need in order to be engaged, enthusiastic learners. The observable manifestations of …

Capturing Peers', Teachers', And Parents' Joint Contributions To Students' Engagement: An Exploration Of Models, Justin William Vollet

Dissertations and Theses

Building on research that has focused on understanding how peers contribute to students' engagement, this dissertation explores the extent to which peer group influences on students' engagement may add to and be contextualized by qualities of the relationships they maintain with their teachers and their parents. To focus on how each of these adult contexts work in concert with peer groups to jointly contribute to changes in students' engagement, the two studies used data on 366 sixth graders which were collected at two time points during their first year of middle school: Peer groups were identified using socio-cognitive mapping; students …

International Students' Experiences In Higher Education: A Case Study Examining Uncertainty Reduction Theory In Communication Classrooms, Susan Kuhn

Dissertations and Theses

This was an exploratory case study which focused on international students' experiences in higher education. In particular, this study investigated the efficacy of uncertainty reduction theory in communication classrooms. The research asked four exploratory questions: (a) What are the students’ perceptions of the teacher/student relationship? (b) Do international students experience uncertainty in communication classrooms? (c) If uncertainty is experienced, what is its source(s)? (d) If uncertainty is experienced, do students seek to reduce it, and if so, how?

A phenomenological perspective was utilized in this study as the organizing, theoretical framework. Relevant literature on uncertainty reduction theory was reviewed as …

Teacher Self-Disclosure From The Perspective Of International Students In The Communication Classroom : A Case Study, Darlene J. Geiger

Dissertations and Theses

Self-disclosure as an interpersonal concept was developed almost 40 years ago with the work of Sydney Jourard (1964). Although the original definition included nonverbal forms of communication, the concept has evolved since then into an 'intentional act of sending verbal information about one's self (Collins & Miller, 1994; Cozby, 1972; Wheeless, 1976; Wheeless & Grotz, 1977). In contrast, the present study broadened the definition for self-disclosure to include nonverbal behaviors and took a new methodological approach to understanding the effects that self-disclosure can have for international students in the communication classroom context.

Teacher self-disclosure from the perspectives of international students …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Teachers' Attributional Tendencies And Gender Bias Towards Failing Students With Learning Disabilities, Polly Chalette

Dissertations and Theses

Student characteristics, such as sex, race, and socioeconomic status, have been found to influence teachers' perceptions of students and their patterns of interaction with them in the classroom. Behavior and achievement also has been shown to influence a teacher's perceptions. When teachers have been asked for evaluative comments and their expectations for future performance of a student, they have stated ability and effort as their explanations. This study will use the principles of Weiner's attribution theory dealing with success and failure in order to examine teachers' attributional tendencies towards a hypothetical student.

This study intends to examine the degree to …

A Cross-Cultural Study Of Role Behaviors Pertaining To The Roles Of Student And Professor, Kathryne Jeanne Nadal

Dissertations and Theses

Communication theory involving the role concept has shown that role expectations and differing evaluations of role behavior can lead to communication breakdowns between persons. Literature pertaining to relations between professors and international students indicates the presence of unfulfilled expectations between them as to how they perform their respective roles. It was therefore hypothesized that some difficulties international students face in the academic world may be due to factors such as differing role expectations. As the literature provided no methodologically based cross-cultural research in this area, the researcher undertook to discover if professors and students evaluate the roles of student and …